Record Search Releases Version 1.5
21 Feb 2009 by Bryce RoperAfter months of planning, Record Search released a new version this week. The list below will give you an idea of some of the changes, and please go to the site and take a look
Updated Home Page
- The home page has been cleaned up a little for easier navigation of the information you need
- The map now shows the number of collections available when you hover over a region
- The region drop down list has been changed
Collection Navigation
- The list of collections is now in a single column
- We now identify collections that are waypoints only- no index
- Also identify collections that have no images
- A cleaner look and feel to user guidance
Image Viewer
- Image navigation- previous, next, and go to buttons have been moved to the bottom of the page
- Images can now be rotated 90º clockwise or counter clockwise at a time
- Full screen view- you asked and we listened, now view images in full screen mode
- Print select area- Now print only the area you want, and watch for more enhancements to this feature in the future.
Help and Feedback
- The help and feedback screens have been improved for more options to get answers to your questions
February 21st, 2009 at 11:05 am
With your update I now cannot ’see’ your site on my computer, win98ME. I get automatically redirected to a page saying I am trying to upload a version of Flashplayer unsuitable for my systerm.
True, my system was not included in the Flashplayer 10 release.
You have now made your site unavailable to many of us older folks on fixed incomes.
February 21st, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Hi
The comment above is the same one I have. I did download the flashplayer and thought it would work but then see it only goes down to Windows 2000 and I have Windows 1980 (I think). I’m in the same boat as above, retired and don’t want to invest in a new computer. My only choice now is to go to the library and hope they have a more updated system than I do. I am really going to miss using your site at home, it had a lot of good info on it.
Fran
February 21st, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I’ve upgraded the Adobe Flash Player but get the following message when I try to search “A server error has occurred, please try again. (Error 500)”.
Linda
February 21st, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I agree with the first two comments. By using flash it alienates too many people. Flash is not worth it. Why not simply use ajax. It provides a more open standards based client that more people can use.
February 21st, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Not sure if it’s just me, but the new site now just automatically crashes Firefox browser.
February 21st, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Thank you for the feedback on the new Record Search release. Your feedback has helped us identify some issues that need to be fixed, specifically issues with:
1. IE 6 displaying a 500 server error
2. Flash Player 10
3. Older versions of Windows operating system i.e.- Win 98 and ME
4. FireFox browser issues
We are working on fixes for all of these issues and will update the blog as soon as we have them fixed.
February 22nd, 2009 at 12:36 am
When I click on Record search now, I go to a blank page. Which it always did in the past for about a minute until the site had loaded then it would appear. Now it will not come up at all for me. Windows XP is my system.
February 22nd, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I also get an error message that I have never gotten before….so frustrating.
February 22nd, 2009 at 7:33 pm
I have Windows XP and when I try to use Record Search, I also get a blank page. Since it worked before, I go along with the old saying- “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. It seems like your fix has broke it!
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:59 am
I agree with D. McFarlin. I guess if going to a new browser is going to solve the problem, why then did it work with IE 6? IE 7 is not that much different.
Thank you and hope it can be resolve soon.
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:09 pm
I now cannot get into either your Records Search or Family Tree sites. I am always redirected to the “You gotta have Flash 10 and then you can come back after you get it” page. I have Windows XP, and meet ALL the requirements for downloading Flash player 10 but, after doing it about 4 or 5 times and it still not installing, I give up!! I have everything needed to qualify and follow instructions to the letter and still get locked out. I loved your search site particularly and will be sorry to have to give it up. YOUR site has a major problem. Instead of limiting access to only the most up-to-date computers with the latest toys, why don’t you focus on reaching a broader audience?
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Getting the Error 500 thing too. It is frustrating. Went to the library they are in the same boat. Any idea when it will be fixed?
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:56 pm
I use Firefox 99.9% of the time, I love it. tried to install Adobe Flash Player 10 using that browser all I get is “Not sufficient disk space to complete the installation, clean your disk need 5000kb” I have a lot of space on the hard drive. so I tried IE and it works fine, have Windows XP as well. Like Sharon Dulcich said you are limiting the access for a lot of people, if it weren’t for the Record Search (Ohio death Cert.) I honestly don’t think I would have ever found my 3rd Great Grandmother. fix please for Firefox.
February 24th, 2009 at 11:46 am
I may be your first Mac OS complaint. You need to back off the Flash 10 requirement and use an earlier version. My preferred version of the Mac OS, 10.3.9, will not run Flash 10. It does run Flash 9. When I go to record search using any of three browsers (Firefox 2, Safari 1.3.2, Opera 9.63), I get the page saying I’m trying to install Flash on an unsupported operating system, furthermore, the links that are supposed to take me to the Adobe site to tell me the requirements and/or download, don’t work. The page just sits there. Incidently, I also get a message that Safari and Opera aren’t supported by your site.
I can, but prefer not to run a later Mac OS (10.4.11) that supports Flash 10. Once I downloaded and installed Flash 10 for it, I was able to use Firefox 3, Safari 3.2.1 and Opera 9.63 to access record search without problems, even though Opera still received the message that it was an unsupported browser.
February 24th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I was also disappointed to find that I can no longer access Record Search using Windows Me. I solved the access problem by installing Puppy Linux and Flash Player 10, but am now finding other problems. The default browser for Puppy Linux is Seamonkey. Record Search inserts a line at the top of the page indicating that the browser is “unsupported” and pushes the bottom of the page below the bottom border of the window. This makes the navigation controls which were moved to the bottom of the page inaccessible.
“Exact match only” no longer seems to be working. Before the upgrade, when searching the Texas Deaths database, I could leave the name blank, specify a year of death and a county and get a list of deaths in the specified year. Most, but not all, would be in the specified county. Now I get “no matches”. I’ve even tried entering a name which should yield a match and still get “no matches”. Is there a fix planned for this?
February 24th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
I have a brand new Dell computer. After the “update”, I got the “A server error has occurred, please try again. (Error 500)”. Nothing told me I had to have Adobe Flash Player for the website to work properly. Finally, several days later and after I figured out that the record search worked on my husband’s old laptop, I searched and found this website. I followed the directions and thought I had downloaded Adobe Flash Player – at least it said it had loaded successfully – but I still get the server error message. I am not a computer techie, so don’t understand what to do to correct the problem or even know what the problem is. Any simple and easy to understand help would be appreciated.
February 26th, 2009 at 9:41 am
I am part of the Record Search team. We released a service pack yesterday that fixes the Server 500 error.
Thanks for the feedback. We hope you enjoy the software. We want to provide great software. There are pluses and minuses to this of course.
Support can help you resolve issues that you may have. Installing Flash Player 10 most of the time is very simple. The Firefox install is more complicated. After the install starts, you need to shut down Firefox before it can finish.
Please give us more feedback so we can research the issues. Thanks
February 26th, 2009 at 10:24 am
The problem is still not solved. Anyone using older oprating systems ( windows 98/me and explorer 6) can not install flash player 10 because it does not support older operating sysytems.my tech person told me the only way i can install flash player 10 is to upgrade my windows operating systems.
February 26th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Just to let you know that the problem is still not solved.
I run a Mac G5 with an older operating system OSX 10.3.9 that does not support flash player. I use Firefox 2.0.0.20 – the latest upgrade for the 10.3.9 system. To upgrade my system is not justifiable – I’d have to purchase a new computer!
Please ‘undo’ the necessity for Flash Player 10. Thanks
February 26th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Sorry – I should have clarified that my system does not support Flash Player 10, but it had no problem with the earlier version.
February 26th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
What are you people doing ?? I cannot get anything but various screens that keep telling me to install the Flash Player you push, however even after installing this magical gadget I am unable to source ANY records pertaining to searching family info. I appreciate the effort to “better” your service, but you screwed up big time on this revision. FIX IT PLEASE.
February 27th, 2009 at 8:01 am
It still gets hung up on 90+%.
I updated Internet Explorer, Firefox, Adobe Flashplayer, Shockwave, media player. Still nothing.
What wasn’t broken is now fixed into a useless state.
Any more suggestions as to what else I might try updating?
February 27th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Flash Player 10 doesn’t work on Windows 98. We are discussing the issues. For those that are on a supported operating system and still having problems, we can get you in contact with support.
February 27th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Thank you Patrick!!!!
Keep working on it and keep us update.
To Gary Reusze(three comments up) :
CALM DOWN. Your message was a little rude.
These people are doing this as volunteers and sharing it with us for free. FREE FREE FREE
Maureen
February 27th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
To Patrick Liechty, The service pack that fixes the Server 500 error has solved my problem, and I am now back in business. Thanks so much!
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:21 am
Patrick Liechty said: “For those that are on a supported operating system and still having problems, we can get you in contact with support.”
Well, I am still having trouble. I have downloaded and installed successfully Flash 10 according to the Adobe website. Yet, when I try to use the Search section on this website, I am always directed to the page that wants me to download and install Adobe Flash 10. I would appreciate it if you will get me “in contact with support,”
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:41 pm
The instructions to contact support are on this blog post:
http://labs.familysearch.org/blog/?p=107
Basically, email support@familysearch.org with your question. Put Record Search in the subject line.
The support phone number is 1-866-406-1830.
March 10th, 2009 at 7:13 am
I have accessed Record Search in the past, but now cannot do so. I have a Mac (OS X) and keep getting the message that I need an Adobe Flash Player update. However, this won’t install. Will I ever be able to view the records again?
March 12th, 2009 at 6:46 am
My browser gets to 98% loading the page each time and stalls there when loading the new record search. It takes a really long time to get to this point and then it never gets past 98%. I have tried to use IE7, Firefox 3.0.7 or Apple’s Safari. I have tried clearing all the temporary Internet files and restarting the browsers and trying again to no avail. Any ideas to help would be great.
March 12th, 2009 at 8:38 am
I found the following fix online for Firefox and Flashplayer on VISTA machines. Similar concepts might be tried for other configurations.
“I had the exact same issue; .swf (flash) files would not work in Firefox. After trying many things I found suggested on the web, none of which worked, I stumbled on the very simple solution by accident. It’s just a matter of telling Firefox which program to use as the default for opening flash files, and this is easy to do!
1. Make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Flash for non-I.E. browsers downloaded and installed (You can get it here: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
2. On the Firefox toolbar, click on “Tools” – “Options” – “Applications.”
3. Scroll down to “Shockwave Flash Object (Application/x-shockwave-flash)” and make sure that it it set to “USE SHOCKWAVE FLASH (in FIREFOX)”. If it is set to use the wrong flash player, simply click on it and a drop-down menu will let you select the correct one if you had downloaded and installed Flash for Firefox.
Note that “Use Flash Player” is not the same thing as “Use Shockwave Flash (In Firefox).” That is what had been set as default in my browser and why it was not working.”
March 17th, 2009 at 7:27 am
I am concerned that the marriage of Record Search with Adobe Flash Player will continue, in the long-term, to be a real problem. I wish I could use the pilot record search in my public library, but the library system takes about two months to update the patrons’ computer system each time a new version of Flash Player comes out. This is twice now that version changes have locked me out of pilot record search for weeks at a time, and I can see nothing but the same on down the road. I can’t help but believe that the pilot program made a left-turn when it should have made a right-turn, when it comes to Adobe Flash Player.
March 28th, 2009 at 6:56 am
I have Windows XP v. 5.1 . I’ve installed Flashplayer 10 and rebooted but still can’t get pilot family search to come up (only get a blank page, no error message). Any help will be greatly appreciated. I belong to ancestry but family search has records that are not available to them (many many thanks for that!).
April 1st, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I have a MAC G4 with MAC OSX 10.3.9, FLASH 9 and FIREFOX 2.0.0.20 – the last upgrades for the 10.3.9 system.
Just a few months ago I used Record Pilot Search just fine in FLASH 9. Now I’m blocked out of the Record Pilot site and totally disappointed.
FamilySearch, please don’t abandon us on older operating systems. We can’t all afford to purchase new computers in order to use FLASH 10.
April 11th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Back in the 1990’s when searching William Mack i was told he had no father. But now have found he had a sister Ann. They were born in Wayne county,N.Y. William married in Stueben county,N.Y. Moved to Wayne county,IL. Moved to Ogle County,IL Enlisted in civil war. Died 11 days later at Anna, Union county,IL. That was in 1861. We cannot find his grave. His widow Sarah [Sally] died 1862 Buried under surname MUCK. Her two little girls were adopted out. Ann Mack married in IL
This family is hard on my mind. But i keep searching.
Thank you.
Viola.
April 28th, 2009 at 5:34 am
Hi!
I have uploaded the latest version of Adobe Flash Player. However, I cannot visualize the images in the site “search.labs.familysearch.com”. Everything is OK when I choose, Europe, collection, etc. until I click on “view images”. I only get a black screen and the images do not load.
I am working with Macintosh Os X10.5.5 and Safari, but it does not work either with FireFox or Camino.
What is wrong? It works on Windows though.
Thanks in advance.
H. IV
June 6th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Iam not buying anything.Iam trying to make a family tree.The family has about 105 people in it.I need a example of what it might look like.A big pictures,i study them.It will help me in making the family tree.I have all the names and the dates.I just need help with getting all the names,dates on the fabric.Please write me back.Thank you.
September 9th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I cannot locate the “browse records collection” Where is it on your site?
Thanks.